Read and heed the disclamer!!!

Interesting that there was such a big "disclamer" about going into the pit (from this thread), yet today i was shocked to hear that they think about closing it for exactly the things that make it the pit.

Dont mess with the pit, leave it alone, if your not ready to be harshly critiqued, dont enter.

If the pit closed/modified there would be no need for me to visit ATS.
I would stop giving positive word of mouth about this site.

What triggered all the "pit bashing"?

I totally agree. The pit is what makes ats, ats. I read the thread SO posted (the one that was 15 pages). I don't see why Colonel and gmcruelty were banned, they were like the catalysts at the pit. The ones that kept it informative. Even if there was verbal abuse being thrown around by either one, no one took it seriously. It was restricted to the pit.

I think the effort to close the pit is to save on bandwidth issues ats is facing. The recent bannings of Colonel and gmcruelty was a cover up, a conspiracy, to direct ats users away from the idea that ats is facing bandwidth issues.

the pit is a place were political values can be portrayed in views either for and against... It does now however come under the terms and conditions of this website that state you cannot insult or personally attack individuals that are trying to put forward points of view.

If people complain.. It will be dealt with accordingly.

Chris

Websurfer, I must respectfully disagree wiht one of your points. gmcnulty almost never posted to the pit. He had many that were moved here from other forums. He was basicialy "spamming" the other forums and perhaps should have been banned some time ago. I think the Mods were very patient with him. IMHO this board is better off without him.

Colonel kept his posts almost exclusively in the pit, and while I almost never agreed with him, I always felt he was upfront and (brutally) honest with his opinion. Him I will miss.

[edit on 6/17/04 by Seth Bullock]

Nevermind.

[edit on 17-6-2004 by Agent47]

I always seem to be the last one to hear about someone being banned. :-D

Lookit, folks, we do not ban lightly around here. Do not think for an instant that the decision to ban Colonel was made in haste.

On the other hand, if you think that those two were catalysts for the Pit, then indeed, the Pit needed a major overhaul.

I agree, the Pit has grown into a large part of ATS, but it certainly is not what makes ATS, nor is it what this site is about. Maybe a history lesson is in order.

ATS is about conspiracies, not politics. After 9-11-01, politics started playing a part in many threads, so the Pit was created to bleed politics away from the main focus of the board. Good threads on conspiratorial topics were being sidetracked by bickering about American politics. To make it clear, the Pit was to bleed politics out of the main topic for which the board was designed, not to be the main topic for the board.

Now, we all know that politics is like religion, most of us have a hard time discussing either one without getting a little hot under the collar, so the rules of "courtesy", if you will, were loosened a bit for the Pit. The problem is, people were taking that to the extreme, and Colonel was one of them. It was never good enough to debate points of interest, it had to begin and end with insults and offenses, many times without a decent point to pursue. Going over the top in such a fashoin does not aid in political debate, but causes many potential contributors to choose not to participate. This was not what we wanted.

Colonel has been the source of many complaints in this regard, he led the pack in that respect. Many of you think he did a swell job, but be honest, was it because he contributed much, or is it because he either attacked those who you wished to be attacked, or maybe was it because you enjoy a good sideshow at the carnival, and liked the entertainment? Eitehr way, that is not what management wanted as it knew that this kind of conduct attracts the wrong element and keeps the good element at bay.

The decision was made to rein in the Pit, not for bandwidth reasons, but because it was out of control. Colonel refused to be a part of this, would not agree to play in accordance with the rules, and basically, he canned himself. Anyone can be an offensive individual at will, that takes no talent, and is nothing to admire. Being a member in political debate that contributes good information and represents their side of the debate with enthusiasm coupled with respectable manners, that is one to admire. Not that I'm that good, but I agree to abide by the stricter policy, and I can do better as well.

Nobody learns in a negative environment, nobody is receptive to someone's views when that person states things like you are a member of an evil party and you are going to go to Hell, or statements of that ilk. As a matter of fact, you know as well as I do, the insults don't even have to rise to Colonel's level to shut one's mind completely.

I regret that Colonel made the decision he made, but nobody can make a decision for another. We have to make our own. I, for one, want to be a productive contributor to this particular forum, and I hope the rest of you, no matter what your political viewpoint is, will do the same.

We do not allow post-by-proxy, especially when the content is from a banned member. Please review the terms and conditions.

The post was removed, and the member warned.

[edit on 30-6-2004 by SkepticOverlord]

No doubt thats the type of feral anti authoratarian posting that had the pit almost axed.

Why cant we just deal with the fact their are limits and people who enforce them?

Whereas I miss Colonels threads and believe his banning to be unnecessary (he was straightforward with his views, which I respect), I need to say that the pit is just one part of ATS/BTS. If the pit was removed, it wouldn't be the end of ATS.

ATS is a mix of various views and forums. I have wandered these hallowed halls for 7 or so months and always find new things to keep me occupied. I'm not stuck with just one forum - there are many for me to visit. I would miss the pit only because there would be one less forum for me to visit. But that doesnt make the rest of ATS any less informative.